The ICJ has joined a call by more than 60 organizations urging the UN Human Rights Council to create an independent international investigative mechanism on the human rights situation in the Philippines, at its upcoming session in September.
The call comes in an open letter to all member and observer States at the Council.
The ICJ and other organizations express grave concern over ongoing extrajudicial executions and other serious human rights violations in the context of the “war on drugs” in the Philippines. They note that these abuses continue to be fueled by incitement to violence and discrimination by the highest levels of government, with near-total impunity.
The letter urges delegations to ensure that the United Nations Human Rights Council responds robustly to the recent report on the situation in the Philippines by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights when it convenes for its upcoming 45th session in September.
Specifically, the organizations call for adoption of a resolution establishing an independent international investigative mechanism on extrajudicial executions and other human rights violations committed in the Philippines since 2016, with a view to contributing to accountability.
Establishing such a mechanism would, the letter notes, be in line with clear calls by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a group of Special Procedures, the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines, and national and international civil society.
The letter can be downloaded in PDF format here: UN-HRC45-OpenLetter-Philippines-2020